(Lines made by kkspecial, I colored them in)Username: I
sabella45
Show Name: Lady of the Seas
Barn Name: Keto (goddess of sea monsters)
Water:History with Water:Keto was found abandoned on a beach as a yearling. The mare that found her didn't know where her parents were decided to adopt her. This mare stayed by her, trying to wake her. Finally the filly opened her eyes and the mare asked her who she was and where her parents were. The filly looked at her solemnly and said one word. "Keto."
The mare took that to be her name and that is what she called her when she took the filly to live with her in her seaside cave home. The mare was lonely and glad for the company, having forgotten the last time she had a family or friends. She had even forgotten her own name.
The mare noticed after a short time that the filly hated being away from the water. Often the mare would find Keto by the sea side, standing in the water with her eyes shut.
But while she proved a good companion to the mare in her old age, Keto never spoke of her past.
For two years the pair lived in solitude. As the mare got older Keto cared for her more and more, bringing her food to eat when she was ill and sun dried sea plants for a soft laying place.
Eventually their quiet beach was discovered by humans who came, a few at a time at first, then more and more. The old are told Keto to leave her if she earned to remain free near the sea she loved so much. The mare was blind and practically lame, but Keto loved her too much to leave her, even for the sake of staying by her precious seaside. Eventually both were discovered and captured. Keto put up no fight, not wanting to leave the old mare's side.
They were loaded into a trailer to be driven to a place where they could be cared for. On the way the old mare began to grow worse, the stress of the day and her age catching up with her, so she spoke to the filly who had become like a daughter to her, and this is what she said.
"Keto, you are so precious to me. I can't imagine what my life may have been like without you. We were always honest with each other. But, you never told me your story, no matter jowls many times I asked. Now, I think my life is ending, will you tell me your story, before I have to leave you?"
Keto, her eyes shining with unshed tears nodded and began her tale in a soft, rhythmic voice.
~Keto's Tale~I was born on a small island in the middle of the sea. My dam stayed by me as I struggled for my first breaths and wobbled to my hooves for the first time, and she called me, Kesia, meaning earthbound. She smelled fresh, like flowers or a sunny meadow. Those were my first memories of her.
I can't say how long I was with her on our tiny island. We shared our home with no one, except the sea birds and my mother taught me everything I needed to know about the island, and the lands beyond.
I often asked her how we came to be there, just her and I. But she never told me. Not exactly. She told me many stories, of the water horses that guarded the ocean, the monsters that they kept at bay, and the horses on land too. Horses like her. I was curious about the land beyond our island, but my heart belonged to the sea. Sometimes I felt a small wave come up and touch my face as I stood by the water's edge, I even imagined it was shaped like a horse! I longed to swim in the ocean waters, feel the waves against my body, but she said no. Not yet.
I asked her one day, if she was a land horse, was I one too? No, she said. I was something more. Something beautiful and strong. I didn't know exactly what she meant, but at the time it was enough for me.
When I was older, old enough to eat the sweet grass on the island, my mother said she was leaving. I asked where we were going, and with tears in her eyes she said that I couldn't come with her where she was going. She said she could no longer live on the the island, but I had to stay because I couldn't live away from the island.
That night was our last night together, me sleeping quietly beside her as she told me stories about the sea and the stars. But some time into the night, she finally told me the story I had been waiting to hear. The story of my birth.
She told me how she had wandered to far into the deep waters by her herd and been sucked out into the deep. She had been drowning when a great beast, something like a squid, came up beneath her and got hold of her. She had thought she was going to die right there, but the beast brought her to the island and left her on land. She passed out, weak from her struggle with the sea.
When she woke up a strangely colored horse with the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen was staring down at her.
He said his name was Koion.
She told me he became her friend, staying with her on the island and showing her what was safe to eat and what was not. They fell in love. But, he had a secret.
When she told him she was expecting a foal, me, he was excited, then sorrowful. He told her that he didn't have much longer to stay on the island. He was a water horse, a beast tamer and a guardian of the sea. His time on land was coming to an end, but because he loved her he hadn't wanted her to know that they could never be together. Instead he had held on to the first true love he ever felt, afraid to let it go.
My mother said she wept when he told her the truth. The next three days they spent every minute together, but at the end of those three days Koion has to leave, and as he walked into the water his physical body faded away and he became part of the water.
Though he visited her in water form it was never the same, and both of them lamented their lost chance at love. But my, mother had me, at least, she'd thought she did.
When I was born I seemed normal to her. Just like any other foal, though my coat was maybe a little unusual. Then my father came to visit me. As my mother stood over me by the water's edge, my father reached out and touched my head softly with his watery muzzle. When he did my body began to change, losing form and becoming like his own. As soon as he drew back the change stopped and I was normal once more.
My mother was frightened and my father told her that I was like her, and him. I would be able to choose both forms as I wished. If she wanted to keep me from taking on my water form and disappearing I had to be kept away from the water, and him.
So, she raised me on the island, trying to keep me out of the water at all costs. But her time on the island was coming to an end. It was a refuge island that the water horses shared with few, and the law decreed that any beast given refuge there could only stay for up to two years time or they would die, or be killed.
The next morning my mother said a tearful goodbye. I watched as she began her long swim back to the mainland, a giant squid by her side and . .. yes, I could see it, the form of a horse in the water beside her.
I was lost without her. I had no idea what to do. She had said I couldn't leave the island. . . why?
A day passed and I barely ate or drank. I was standing by the water puzzling over my problem when suddenly a watery form rose out of the water, taking shape as a horse. My father.
He told me that my mother was safe now. He said that in nine months, when I was a year old, I would be able to leave the island.
I asked him why and he told me that when I became a yearling I would have my full water form and be able to withstand the long swim to land.
I waited. I waited those nine months with only birds, and occasionally my father for company. I hadn't noticed it at first, but my father had his own language. He said I understood it because I was born part water horse, my mother had because he taught her.
I learned a lot in those nine months, about the water, and myself. I used to slip into the water and practice swimming in water form. I had to work hard just to will myself into that form, and when I finally succeeded I had to learn to swim. It was hard. The water all around me was a part of me, but not a part of me all at the same time. It could work with me, and against me. Sometimes pulling and pushing me off course, other times pushing me up and keeping me from crashing into things or sinking to the bottom.
I found that I had a unique ability with the beasts of the sea, both natural and unnatural.
My father taught me many things, helping me learn how to swim, how to understand the sea and her occupants. He taught me his language, and the language of my mother so that I would never forget either. He even twisted my name, Kesia, meaning earthbound, to be Keto. He said that way I would never forget that I was both land and sea, and no longer bound to the earth.
When at last nine months was over I was ready to leave. My father bid me farewell, saying he could not leave the water again for another ten years at least and promising to try to find me when he did. I found it was hard to say goodbye to him. He had taught me so much, and loved me, I was sure. As I turned to leave, I even thought I saw a tear drop slide down his watery cheek.
The swim to land was long and hard, made harder by a sudden rainstorm. The rains came down hard and the water swelled, swirling and thrashing, threatening to tear my watery form apart.
I barely held my form, then I hit my head on a rock and all went black.
I never felt my father, who had been following me, come up beside me and pull me to shore. The waves pulled him back into the sea and I never saw him again.
When I woke an elderly mare was leaning over me, trying to wake me. She asked me questions, my name, my parents. My name . . . Kesia, Keto . . . . my memories swirled in my head as I struggled to remember my own name. "Keto," I said.
After Keto's Capture:When Keto has finished her tale the old mare, smiled, closed her eyes and with her last breaths said, "I remember now, Betha, my name was Betha."
Then she was gone, and Keto was alone, feeling as abandoned as when her birth mother left her all that time ago.
When the trailer stopped the humans discovered Keto laying by the mare's side, soaking up what warmth was left in her coat.
The humans took the body away and led a dejected and listless Keto out of the trailer. But, when they touched her something snapped in Keto. It was their fault Betha was dead and she was alone far from the sea. She reared and kicked, and the unsuspecting humans were unable to hold onto her. So, Keto ran. She ran over fields, rocks, strange places.
When evening fell she found herself in a pasture, exhausted from running she sank down onto the grass, just alert enough to notice how it poked at her, unlike the sand and the smooth cave floor she was used to. Keto fell asleep in the middle of the pasture, tired and overwhelmed.
When morning came Keto woke and stood slowly and stiffly, dew drops falling from her coat. She didn't know where she was or why she was there, but she knew where she wanted to be. With the old mare, Betha, gone Keto just wanted to go back home to the sea and wait there for her parents to find her.
She sniffed the breeze but there was no trace of salt in the air. So, she just began to walk, not caring the direction as she tried to find the salty smell that would lead her home.
But all she found was trees and more open fields. The grass tasted odd to her and even the little water she did find was nothing like the salt water that she was used to. She barely even felt the presence of her water form anymore.
Over the next few days she began to notice that she was getting skinnier and her body felt weak.
Eventually she stumbled onto a stream and drank from the still water. She stumbled along, following the stream, hoping it would lead her to the salt waters. But, after a few days she had only found ponds, though having fresh water to drink had at least revived her somewhat. She was also learning to like the strange grass.
She went through woods, over fences and fields. Finally, she found a large body of water, the shores around it shining white like sand. She half ran half stumbled down the rocky shore to the water, but when she had reached it she discovered that it was not the salt water, and the fish there were different. Confused Keto tried to shift into her water form, but she felt separated from the water.
She was frightened and frustrated and sank onto the sand, which was really just dirt. And there she lay, not knowing what to do.
Her mother was gone, her father was far away in the salt waters, and Betha was gone forever.
Keto stayed by the water for three days, trying to decide what to do next. She knew she couldn't find her way back to the salt waters, not alone anyway. That is how
Pelefound her.
The young mare had been exploring further than she was supposed to, but that wasn't unusual. She found the oddly colored mare asleep on the shore and approached her without a second thought. "Hey," she said loudly.
Keto jumped, waking with a start. She found herself staring up at a mostly white mare with blue green eyes. "Who are you?" she asked.
Pele stared oddly at the mare, not understanding her garbled speech. "You alright there? I can't understand you."
Keto was confused, then realized that she had been speaking in her father's tongue. "Sorry, I have been alone for a while," she said in the speech of land horses.
Pele stared at the mare who looked embarrassed. "It's fine," she said with a shrug. "So, you just visiting up here or something?"
"Kind of," Keto said. "I was trying to find the salt water." When Pele looked at her even more strangely than before she knew she had made a mistake. "I mean, you know the big water."
"The lake?" Pele asked, trying to understand the mare who was either very confused or very strange.
"Lake, yes," Keto said slowly, inwardly telling herself to remember the new word.
Pele couldn't help but feel like the mare reminded her of a foal just learning things. "Well, okay. I guess I am in your way then. So, yeah, see you."
"Wait! Please, will you tell me . . . is there any other water around here?"
"Just some ponds and streams." Pele looked at the mare's face, but she showed no emotion, though her tone suggested some kind of desperation.
"Oh." Keto looked out at the lake, feeling her last shred of hope disappear.
"But . . the lake is great," Pele said, feeling like she had to comfort the mare, thought she wasn't sure why. "Say, why don;t you come back to my herd with me, maybe we can help you."
Keto looked blankly at the filly, the nodded. Her connection to the water was apparently gone, and she had no place else to go. She followed the mare then suddenly asked. "What is your name?" The mare smiled. "Pele. Yours?"
Keto was quiet a minute, "Kesia."
"Nice to meet you," Pele said. "Everything will be alright. You'll see."
Keto stayed with Pele's herd and learned the ways of land horses. She continued to go by the name Kesia, not wanting to be reminded of what she had lost. She was surprised at how readily most of the horses accepted her, and Pele seemed to always be there to help her get through . Eventually, Keto even became happy again, not exactly happy like before, but she no longer spent every minute of every day wishing she was back at the salt water. But the yearning for the water was still inside of her and she sometimes felt it trying to come to the surface.
One day she went out into the woods with a few young colts and fillies, pretty much babysitting them as they visited the stream. Keto had mostly been avoiding the water so that she wouldn't have to think about it too much, but since this was the first time she had been asked to perform a real job for the herd she didn't want to refuse.
While the foals played Keto stood by the water, staring at her reflection. She had gotten used to it taste now, having gotten used to drinking from the small stream by the herd's living grounds.
As she stared into the still surface she felt her old yearning for the water come back, that part of her that had been missing. When she was sure the foals weren't watching she closed her eyes cautiously placed her hooves in the water, letting the small ripples dance against her legs. As they did she began to feel them, really feel them, like she knew what they were going to do. Keto's eyes popped open and she looked down. Her legs were beginning to grow translucent. Her water form had come back.
Keto was so overjoyed she didn't know what to do. So, she followed the foal's example and began to jump and splash in the water. The foals thought it was a game and did the same, whinnying gleefully. When they went back to the herd Keto felt lighter than she had in months.
She found Pele and asked if they could take a trip back to the lake tomorrow. Pele was surprised since she hadn't gone back since Keto had joined the herd. The next day the pair set off early and arrived at the lake by noon.
Keto was barely able to keep herself from running right into the water.
First, she had to to tell Pele her secret.
She told her all at once, barely pausing for a breath. when she was done Pele just stared at her wide-eyed. Keto thought she might be mad, but a slow smile spread over the mare's face and she just said. "Cool, now why don't you get in there before you burst?"
Keto smiled then ran full force into the water. She felt herself change before she looked down and saw the change taking place. Her time near the small streams in her territory must have gotten her used to the new water. She still had to get used to the different language of the freshwater and its occupants, but it was a start. Besides, now she had a family to help her, and maybe someday she would see her parents again. When she and Pele were on the way back to the herd Pele couldn't stop talking about her ability."Is the water alive? Can you speak to it? Does it have feelings? Does it like the fish swimming in it?" her questions were endless.
"It is alive in it's own way and it does speak, also in its own way," Keto said. "And as far as the fish, I never asked."
"Wow. Well Kesia, it looks like you are the water whisperer. Maybe you can put in a good word for me next time it rains and my mane gets soaked?"
Keto chuckled. "Rain isn't the same as the lake water, and Pele, my name . . . it's Keto."
Pele looked at her then said, "Well, Keto then. You know. I think I like that better. Did the water name you?"
Keto chuckled. "No, Pele."
(Above is her water form)(Lines made by kkspecial, I colored them in)Relationship With Water:Keto can feel the presence of water nearby in a way that others cannot. She can feel it in the air and when she is in the water she literally becomes a part of it. She cannot control the water, but she can anticipate its actions and understands how to swim with it, not against it. She loves the water and hates being away from it. She is used to freshwater now, but she will always feel most comfortable in saltwater.
Keto can also control the beasts of the water. She can communicate with all of them and since her water form allows her to be a part of the sea they trust her. Mythological beasts are harder to control, but Keto doesn't meet up with many of them in her new home.
Sometimes Keto can feel overwhelmed when in the water. The sheer force of it sometimes threatens to tear her form apart, and if that happened she would be a part of the sea forever, never allowed to roam on land again.
Personality:Keto is cautious, quiet, generally withdrawn, and not one to offer up opinions on anything quickly. When she gets to know you she can be fun and friendly with an almost bubbly (no pun intended) personality.
Keto tends to let her form influence her personality at times.
On land she is most often meek, soft-spoken, quiet, curious but cautious, a follower not a leader, and a bit of a wallflower.
In the water she is more sassy, curious, playful, and outgoing.
The reason for this is because on land she tends to feel more out of place and self-conscious, so she tends to be quiet and introverted, observing other horses to pick up their mannerisms.
In the water she is most often perfectly comfortable and more likely to let her fun side show because she is comfortable in her environment and confident of her water self.
This tends to make her seem complicated to other horses so she doesn't have too many very close friends.
Relationships:Pele is her first friend. Pele is sassy, quick witted, opinionated, and bold. She always seems confident in herself and Pele's confidence often helps Keto to feel confident as well.
Kayla is sweet and stubborn, sassy and loyal. She tried befriending Keto from the beginning and though Keto was shy at first, Kayla never gave up and the two soon formed a strong friendship.
